Gun dog advise please

[storsey]

Good afternoon chaps ...

 

I shoot from a hide at least once a week and occasionally ..( once a month or so ) rough shoot .. I have never owned a gundog but to be honest I like some company in the hide and it would be great to get the shot birds picked up ... My old legs arnt what they use to be ... Lol

 

So I guess what I'm asking is should I get a semi trained dog or if I can find one an older trained dog .. Or should I get a pup and try to train it myself ... And what dog to get ?

 

This also maybe a bit strange but I'd like the dog to be a house dog as well ...,( if that's possible )

 

Sorry to sound a bit thick but any advise would be most welcome

 

Thanks

[ShootingEgg]

To answer the which age / trained dog question as best I can, how much time do you have to train a pup? I bought a pup, and take him out every morning before work to do training and when the evenings permit i do a little with him aswell as going to a trainer once a week.

 

And if it's just retrieves you want then a lab would be my choice.

[kent]

A gundog can be a pet, it can even come in the house but neither of these should come before or compromise its work. What is the rest of the family going to be like about that? ask yourself then ask them before you decide

[bill425g6]

Don't buy a half or full trained dog. Buy a good pedigree pup and train it to what you want the dog to do. Rather than buy a dog someone has trained to what they think it should do. As it grows its character will develop with your character. Get professional advice if you cant train it yourself etc. Most shooters are Lab or Spaniels, I've had Labs all my life and know very little about Spaniels. My dogs are kept outside but are let into the house every day for a few hours.

 

The bottom line is have you the time and energy to train and walk a dog every single day, can you physically do it and most dogs live to be 10yrs old or more.